The Last Jedi came out December 15, 2017. I was totally not counting down the days, and absolutely did not look at any Star Wars related content up to its release. Nothing. Nope. Nadaaaaa.

Fine. Y’all caught me. I was 100% counting down the days until it came out, and browsed Star Wars content albeit religiously on social media (read: Instagram). I’m going to be honest here; I have a terrible weakness for spoilers. It’s a bit of a problem. And I was doing so good! I was so proud of myself the week that it was going to be released, because I had resisted the urge to read any spoilers! But the day before I went to go see it, something in my brain *ahem* snapped.

Read it.

No. Nope! I am going to wait til the movie.

But, IT’S RIGHT THERE.

I can do this. I have gone almost the entire week without reading spoilers.

Click. The. Link.

Well. As I’m sure you can tell, I did not make it without getting some spoilers. Whoops. But hey, I made progress! The next movie I’ll definitely make it the whole way without looking at spoilers.

Anyway, onto the review!

This review is going to have spoilers in it, so to those who have not seen it – DO NOT SCROLL ANY FARTHER. Be strong (though I’m totally not blaming you if you can’t resist. The struggle is real y’all!).

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.

TURN BACK NOW.

SERIOUSLY.

LAST WARNING.

Well, that’s as many warnings as a person can give, so here we go! Gosh, where do I start? So much happened! I will attempt to contain my enthusiasm and – eh, who am I kidding. What fun is a review without some excitement?

Let’s start with a breakdown of how the movie begins.

The Resistance is fleeing the First Order, who is tracking them ruthlessly and not giving them a moment of peace. On the other side of the galaxy, Rey and Chewie have gone to Ahch-To in search of Luke Skywalker, who they feel certain will return with them and help defeat the First Order.

Now that we have the background set, I’m going to dive in to my random thoughts of the movie. First of all, I love love love the character development arcs. My favorite one, in terms of just the over all beginning and ending, would have to be Poe’s.

The way Rian Johnson, the director/writer, constructed it was awesome. We see Poe, who is the best pilot in the Resistance, get some reprimanding from his leader and idol – Leia. When the film first starts, Poe takes some reckless risks and because of them, lives are lost. He ignored Leia’s instruction to turn back, and kept fighting. It becomes clear that Poe is zealous for the Resistance and its cause, and while passion is a key component when battling obstacles, unbridled passion can lead to causalities and ignoring leadership.

Further, when Leia puts someone in charge; Poe completely disobeys Vice Admiral Holdo. To be fair, until we learned the reason behind Holdo’s statements, I was actually on Poe’s side in this instance. It seemed like she was giving up, but as we learn, Holdo actually had good reasons for what she was saying.

Anyway, as the movie continues to progress, Poe starts learning that fighting is not always the answer. You can’t rush into the thick of the battle every single time. When they’re on Crait, we really start to see his growth in becoming a better leader and shaping his passion into something that also takes into account consequences.

Now, onto Luke. There have been mixed reactions about his character in The Last Jedi, and I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think that Luke is suffering from depression, and if you think about everything he’s been through, it would be ridiculous to assume that he could come out on the other side, the same boy that left Tattoine. So, I’m not upset that they didn’t portray him as untainted or as enthusiastic as he was in the original trilogy.

On the other hand, I do wish that Rian would have made there be a better reason for Luke to be on the island for so long. Personally, through reading meta and different theories, I always thought that he went to Ahch-To to seek out the first Jedi Temple – to find answers through the Force. In my own mind, I’m still going with that as I think it makes more sense than just saying he isolated himself. Though. To be fair, his two previous mentors exiled themselves to planets, and Yoda going to one without any companions. Who knows! It’s plausible, I suppose, if you look at Yoda and Obi-Wan’s exile choices.

Speaking of Yoda, we got a Force Ghost! I was actually surprised that it was Yoda, not that I’m complaining of course! I thought it was neat that Yoda was the one who was basically saying that it’s time for the past Jedi order to die out (he did burn the whole tree down after all), seeing as how he was a stickler for the Jedi rulebook in the prequel trilogy. I was a little bit disappointed that we did not get Force ghost Anakin though. Here’s to hoping that happens in episode nine! Pretty please Lucasfilm.

I cannot go this far without mentioning my favorite part of the film.

Reylo. Yep. IT HAPPENED PEOPLE. Also, disclaimer here, you’re free to disagree with me, BUT NO HATER COMMENTS. Or they will be deleted. Anyway.

Two years, and people said reylo shippers were crazy (unfortunately, including my own dad and brother *sigh*). Thank you Rian Johnson for doing what we all had theorized and actually making it come to life!

The Force bond is real y’all. And yes, I know Snoke said he created it, but honestly that’s the stupidest statement I’ve ever heard. And I’m not just saying that because I ship reylo. For one, why should we trust anything Snoke says? He is a manipulator, and so of course, he would want to take credit for something that has formed between his apprentice and Rey. Secondly, the major indication that he did not form it, to me, is that after his death, the Force bond did not disappear. It was still there. With that said, I do not think it is too far-fetched to think that Snoke manipulated Kylo’s end of the bond. After all, it is canon that Snoke has been “whispering” and basically in Kylo’s head since he was a child. With his dark knowledge of the Force, he could have manipulated it to suit his own objectives.

Personally, I believe the Force bond was created when Kylo and Rey were in each other’s minds during the interrogation in The Force Awakens. Another theory, that I have seen is that the Force itself bonded them.

With that out of the way, onto the actual Force bond scenes! They were so awesome. Better than I could have ever imagined! It definitely left me wanting more! For starters, I think it was really neat that not only could they see each other’s surroundings, but they could actually feel them (rain with Kylo) and touch.

Yep. The hand scene. Y’all, like where do I start??? I love it so much. The simplicity and innocence of the entire interaction – how they are both so lonely and desperate for affection and validation, and yet, like the INTIMACY of such a pure, childlike action was crazy!

LOVED. IT.

I can’t even imagine how amazing it is going to be when they finally kiss! And for those of you who doubt that it will happen, I’m just going to point you to something the late Carrie Fischer (RIP) said to Daisy Ridley: “I’m looking forward to your space kiss” (just search Carrie’s name and space kiss and the quote will come up).

Also. THE SCENE IN SNOKE’S CHAMBERS. Ya know, where they are fighting back to back and in complete sync with each other. Where they LET THE OTHER ONE USE THEIR LIGHTSABER (the amount of trust???). Absolutely beautiful. Honestly, it’s the first time since the prequels that I can remember seeing two Force users fighting together – and who doesn’t love that?!

Pure awesomeness.

Alas, with mentioning the throne room scene, I would be a terrible movie reviewer if I skipped over the final moment. The one where the lightsaber breaks in half, and our poor characters hearts shatter. I saw something on Pinterest or Tumblr that really explains this better than I can.

Other moments I loved were where Luke is trying to teach Rey to reach out with the Force. He uses a plant leaf/stem to touch her, and she excitedly thinks that this is the Force! Y’all – SO HILARIOUS. Literally one of the best parts of the movie xD

Being the animal lover that I am, I cannot finish this review without referring to the new creatures! Porgs – ADORABLE FLUFF BALLS, so cute! Ice crystal foxes – visually, completely stunning! Fathier – seriously, do they not have the sweetest face ever??

On the whole, I loved The Last Jedi. There were some parts that I did not like – I thought Luke drinking milk from that creature on the island was super weird, and I also wasn’t completely satisfied with his death. I loved the whole interaction with Leia, that he finally came to his senses and did what needed to be done. However, I’m still not fully convinced that projecting an image like that could drain you enough to kill you. But who knows, maybe I just want to think that because Luke is one of my favorite characters.

I thought Rose’s addition was great. It really gave a perspective of someone who is in the background, and who is dealing with real losses – her sister dying. Up until now, other than Han, our characters haven’t really lost someone close to them, and I think this was a good, grounding addition. War has consequences.

Also, I think she really helped Finn achieve some character growth. He was confronted with someone who looked at him like a hero. Would he rise up to the challenge of being part of the Resistance? Or was he going to run away and save his own skin? Great stuff.

Honestly, there is so much more that I could go on about, but I’m going to try and keep this review at a realistic length xD

If you haven’t seen The Last Jedi, go see it! It’s an amazing film. And if you have watched it, comment below and let me know what you thought! Did you love it? Hate it? Fall somewhere in the middle?

Recently, I watched The Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time. This was definitely different than any Marvel movie I’ve seen before, with it being set in a much bigger universe than the others. Of course, Thor’s movies have also been set in space, with some Earth scenes; this, however, was different. It gave you a better idea of how wide the scoop of the Marvel universe is in terms of Earth not being the only world concerned.

There were some great fighting scenes, as with any Marvel film, complete with weaponry, space ships, and acrobatic/martial arts. The main character, Peter Quill – or Starlord as he calls himself, reminded me of Marvel’s version of Han Solo. He’s quirky, funny – gets himself into a slew of trouble, and despite everything, at the end of the day, he has a good heart. Like the famed Star Wars character, Peter is high on people’s list to capture, and is definitely not buddies with the majority of the star studded, space neighborhood. And so, when he gets captured after so long, he finds himself stuck in a high-security prison with several other beings that he managed to run into along the way.

You have the intelligent raccoon called Rocket, the living tree that is a mystery to everyone and only speaks three words – “I am Groot,” the green, Black-Widow of space named Gamora, and another guy who tries to kill Gamora early on, Drax. This rag-tag group of people, who really only cares for their own self and interests, comes together in a hilarious and intense way. Throughout most of the movie, conflict arises between one or more parties, and poor Peter Quill continually tries to step in and smooth things over. Or as he said, no one is getting killed on my ship! (Something like that XD)

If you like Marvel movies, or just movies with action and humor in general, then I think you will find The Guardians of the Galaxy very enjoyable! Alright, that was my spoiler free review! If you read on any farther, fair warning, there are going to be some spoilers – though, I will try to steer clear of major ones.

***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***

***LAST WARNING***

***TURN BACK NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS***

Ok, with that out of the way, here are some of my favorite things about this film (in no specific order).

1. Introduction of new species/beings

I thought it was cool how they brought in different species and beings that have not been seen in the Marvel universe before. Some of them looked exactly like humans, except for the color of their skin. Others were not similar to humanity in any way, shape, or form. It would be great if we could ever get some of their specie names and see how they’re all related.

2. Star Wars similarities

I really could not go through this list, without bringing this up. I’ve already mentioned that Peter Quill reminded me a lot of Han Solo, being someone rough-around-the-edges, but at the end of the day, he makes the right choice and helps people. I noticed, additionally, that when Gamora, Peter, Rocket, Groot, and Drax are entering the planet/city/etc – I think it used to be a mining community if I’m remembering correctly? – to sell the orb and get the money, some similarities to the Star Wars planets and more dangerous cantinas.

3. That arrow weapon

Yondu’s arrow is freaking awesome XD How does that thing work??? It’s kind of eerie if you think about it. There’s this blue guy whistling some tune, and an arrow floating in the air. Then before you know it, everyone around him is dead! Crazy. I thought that was a really cool weapon addition though.

4. Earth references

It was hilarious how no one understood Peter’s references XD Especially, the one where he makes the cutting-the-head-off-motion and Drax, along with the others, is literally like, “WHAT IS THIS GUY DOING.” So funny. And when he calls Rocket a raccoon, and says there are a ton like him on Earth, Rocket goes off on a, “THERE IS NO ONE LIKE ME,” rant.

5. Thanos

Wow. Like…WHAT. First of all, the entire idea of Thanos having a family is weird. Galaxy murderers should not have children. Just say’in – life lesson there y’all. I thought both Nebula and Gamora were awesome, creatively done characters. I am curious, however, as to why Nebula is so hateful towards her sister, and why she stayed with Thanos. I mean, he’s not exactly in the running for “Father of the Year” award. And, apparently she can regrow lost body parts. Well, that’s certainly a unique ability.

Furthermore, did anyone else wonder why if Thanos is so powerful, he chooses to live on a rock? It’s not even a nice rock. Literally looks like he dropped a boulder on a boring ‘ol rocky planet and decided that was going to be his throne. Personally, I’m not really getting take-over-the-universe vibes from that. Anyone with me?

Overall, I really enjoyed watching The Guardians of the Galaxy. I appreciated the creative touches that the film’s team added to this, and can’t wait to see how they expand on that in the next one. I thought baby Groot was seriously so adorable, and as a romantic, enjoyed those moments between Gamora and Peter. To those of you who have seen it, what did y’all think of The Guardians of the Galaxy? Favorite moments? Loved it, hated it? Let me know in the comments below!

There is literally so much to discuss and my brain is kind of exploding right now with #ONCERFEELS, so, I’m going to try and break down my review and thoughts on the finale.

***WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW, IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FINALE AND DO NOT WANT MAJOR SPOILERS ON THE FUTURE OF ONCE UPON A TIME DO NOT READ THIS***

Alright, with that out of the way, first things first.

The Black Fairy

Seriously. Y’all. I cannot even EXPLAIN how much I despise and hate her. Watching her psychologically play Emma like a chess piece was just *screeches* absolutely horrible.

Kudos to the writers for coming up with such a terrible villain, but sheesh! I have a particular loathing for characters who twist others emotionally and psychologically (Palpatine aka Darth Sidious being another example).

My poor family had to endure me *ahem* yelling *ahem* at the TV XD

Seriously though, the Black Fairy is just wow…really hate her.

2. The Black Fairy’s Curse

I really had no idea what this would look like, but honestly, I was not expecting for the townspeople to be affected in such a way!

AND BELLE. Y’all. Apologies if I rant, but…SHE DESERVES EVERYTHING GOOD IN THIS WORLD AND THE BLACK FAIRY IS A HORRIBLE MONSTER *cough* Anyway. I’ll leave you with that thought on what she did to Belle.

Brilliant move on the writers part, to have Emma’s belief be the key to winning the battle. So many battles we fight in our day-to-day lives are not against actual dragons or villains, but battling our own struggles, anxiety, whatever it may be. I thought it was appropriate, on a show centered around belief, that the secret to winning the final battle was in not losing faith.

Crazy how not believing can cause such horrible consequences – not believing in yourself, not believing that it can be overcome, not believing that you can get through it; but when you do believe, even a little, it can have dramatic, wonderful conclusion. That reminds me of when Jesus speaks about the mustard seed. How if you have faith even as small as a mustard seed (which is TINY), you can move mountains.

3. Son-in-law Hook

Some of the funniest lines came from the Hook-David and Hook-Snow interactions in this episode XD LOVED IT SO MUCH. Especially this one:

Snow’s reaction XD PRICELESS.

I also adored Hook’s impassioned speech about Emma, when he and David were by the beanstalk. It was extremely sweet and showed how dedicated he is to her – if it wasn’t already apparent. To all my Oncer readers, did anyone one else squeal happily when Hook kept referring to Emma as his wife??? ❤

Captain Swan FOREVER.

4. Gideon

This line though…”I was hoping you could save both of us.”

OUCH. THERE GOES MY HEART. </3

Poor Gideon. He couldn’t even control his own actions (LOOKING AT YOU BLACK FAIRY), and was forced to do something he did not want to do. When he said that statement, I was just like ahhh small children getting caught up in a fight that is not theirs! (yes, I know in this instance he was an adult. that is beside the point) XD

5. Snowing, Rumbelle, basically all the characters and my ships

Snow waking Charming with a kiss…NEVER GETS OLD! Classic Once Upon A Time and I love it. I don’t think I could get tired of that scene even if I tried.

Gideon turning back into a baby = happiness. Belle above all deserves to have a happy life. She is the most forgiving, selfless, optimistic person ever and I was so thrilled that she got her happy ending and Rumple FINALLY decided to make the right decision.

Pretty, pretty please writers. Do not make Rumple betray her in Season 7. OR I WILL LOSE MY EVER-LIVING MIND *cough* #Belledeservesbetter

The image of Hook being a sheriff though is literally so hilarious to me XD I can’t really see him in that profession…Admittedly, it would make for some very humorous scenes.

The scene with them at Granny’s was SO PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL. Finally, this messed up family came together. All of them. Snow and Charming Emma and Hook. Belle and Rumple. Regina, Zelena, Henry. The babies.

I can’t say that without referencing this though XD

6. Season 7

Ok, so I know a lot of people are saying that aren’t going to watch season 7. I understand, but c’mon y’all! Give it a chance. At least watch the first few episodes before you judge it. Who knows, it could be really amazing! There is also this, which gives me hope that we have not seen the last of Snow, Charming, Belle, Zelena, and Emma!

I loveeee the actor they got to play older Henry *cough* which has absolutely nothing to do with his looks XD And the little girl is super adorable!

I’m curious why he is in Seattle though, since that is on the opposite coast and really far from Storybrooke. I don’t mind them doing some of the same things in terms of similarities to Emma, however, I hope it won’t be exactly like it.

Our Once Upon A Time characters have gone through losing their memory too many times lol, so I hope that it at least won’t start out with Henry not remembering something. Even though, I know it’s likely that’s what they’ll do.

Some people are speculating that Lucy’s mother is Moana, which honestly could be really cool and a nice tie in. Speaking of Lucy, I love that they added that reference to Narnia. The wardrobe that Emma was put in was also a reference to the C.S. Lewis stories, and I adore the fact that they named her Lucy. Since in the Narnia books, Lucy was always the one who believed in Aslan and Narnia the strongest, and seeing how this is a show about belief, I thought that was very appropriate.

It’ll be interesting to see how they’ll incorporate Neal, Robyn, and Gideon into the story. I hope they’ll include them! I think it would be really cute to have this little band of kids, children of fairytale characters, come together and fight against whatever it is.

I don’t know how I’m going to survive the hiatus!

What are y’all’s thoughts on the season finale? Do you have any theories for what season seven could be about? Let me know in the comments below!

A few weeks ago, my family and I watched Disney’s Queen of Katwe, which came out last year in September. I had been wanting to see it for a while, but had never gotten around to watching it in theater. If you are unfamiliar with it, Lupita Nyong’o (who has starred in The Force Awakens as Max Kanata, The Jungle Book as Raksha – the mother wolf, and other films) plays the main character’s mother, Nakku Harriet. Newcomer, Madina Nalwanga, plays Phiona Mutesi, the star of the film.

When I finally watched it, I was happy that it did not disappoint! 🙂 The movie is based on a true story, that actually only took place a few years ago – so it’s very relative. Taking place in Africa, the tale follows a poor girl, Phiona, in Uganda, who learns to see life differently and overcome her circumstances through the game of chess.

Before watching and hearing about this movie, I did not realize that there are actual chess competitions at different levels – like any other sport. I also found it interesting that learning chess taught the children to think analytically and strategically, which in turn sharpens one’s mind. And because most if not all of these children had never attended school before, this benefit to learning chess was even more important.

Though I don’t know much about Africa’s poverty, I thought the film did a good job of portraying the different aspects that come with living at the bottom of the ladder. Not being able to pay rent for a home (what most of us would not even consider a house) and being kicked out, to not having enough money to stay in the hospital, and other such things.

At the end of the film, they show the actors beside the real-life people they played – which I thought was pretty cool. Additionally, Phiona’s mentor, who run the Christian and sports institute that first introduced her to chess, is shown to have had a tremendous impact not only on her life, but on multiple children growing up in poverty. It goes to show that one person can make a big difference in the world right where they are. Without him, it would be highly unlikely that these children would have attended school and gone on to pursue such careers as engineering.

The themes of broadening one’s mind, setting goals for yourself beyond your circumstances, and never giving up are scattered throughout this movie. This is a story of the impact one person can make, and how that can directly change one person’s life, and in turn, another generation.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to go and watch Queen of Katwe. It’s an inspiring, true story that people of all ages can enjoy.

As some of you have likely heard, in the new live-action Beauty and the Beast, they are going to have a clearly gay character: Le Fou.

I had seen a link about it earlier, but did not think much of it. They would not do that to such a classic, well-loved story – and one for children no less. In my mind, I thought it was probably only some media station that was being overly dramatic and secular as usual.

I never cry, yet here I am shedding tears over it. Maybe it’s the feeling of betrayal – of someone taking something you have loved and turning it into the very opposite. Perhaps it is the fact that they have been entrusted with such a sacred character and film, and…done this – this with it? I know I should not be surprised. I know that Disney is a secular company. I know all these things; I even had figured that they would likely have a gay couple in Star Wars – however much I disagree with it. And still, I find myself feeling blindsided.

Maybe it is because everyone who has grown-up watching the animated version and identifying themselves with Belle, feels like in a way, this is their movie, their story. A classic. And you expect when someone undertakes a remaking, for them to do justice to the original, and to have them do this?

If you want to have a gay character in a children’s movie, that’s your choice. But to ruin a classic? To change what was already made? What people already loved? If they wanted to introduce a gay character, which I would prefer them not to of course, this was not the way to do it.

Perhaps it’s the sin of it all that grieves me. It angers me that sweet, innocent children may watch this new movie and see whatever scene this is, and become confused. Confused that if they have a friend of the same sex, does that mean they’re gay? If they think a person of the same gender is handsome/pretty, does that mean they’re gay? How saddening, for people to believe the answer to these questions is yes (Author note: These are my opinions and thoughts, you are welcome to disagree; I am not looking to debate anyone about this. Also, I am not going to get into the whole logistics/biblical context/etc of someone being gay right now).

Honestly, I am not even sure why I’m writing this. I guess I thought that if I wrote my thoughts down, maybe it would help me process them. Regarding the movie as a whole, I am truthfully not even sure I will be going to see it in theatre. This news has really depressed me. They have taken my favorite Disney princess – heroine, my favorite animated classic, and added something that is not in the original. And that I certainly do not agree with.

I saw an article a few days ago about which Star Wars characters should get stand-alone films, and so I thought I’d add my own tidbit on that 🙂

In no specific order, here are some characters that I think should get stand-alone films:

1. Obi-Wan

And the stand-alone film that practically the entire fandom wants…one on Obi-Wan. Between the time of episode three and four, a lot could have occurred with him.

If you take into account the animated Clone Wars series, that makes it especially interesting. Could Rey possibly be the grandchild of Obi-Wan? And if so, was Santine her grandmother – and she only did not tell Obi-Wan about the child before she died? Or could it be a completely different female character?

There are so many options for this, and it would be really cool to see what kind of background information a stand-alone film for Obi-Wan would bring up.

2. Lyra Erso

So, I have a headcanon that Jyn has the Force – she just doesn’t know it yet. If you go with that theory, then that means that she probably got the Force from someone in her family (of course, that’s not always the case – but let’s go with it for now).

It would make Rogue One much more fascinating, if a stand-alone film was done on Lyra. Who in her family had the Force? How did she learn about it since the Emperor was ruling? When and in what manner did she meet Galen?

Considering that Galen had a past in working with the Empire, it would be interesting to see how they even met – since it’s clear that Lyra has a strong distaste for the Empire, and believes in the Force.

3. Padme Amidala

Alright, I’ll admit I’m a little biased with this one – since she’s one of my favorite female characters in the Star Wars universe. However, I still think it would be really neat to show her background. What caused a young thirteen-year-old to be elected as queen? Did she have any other political experience before this?

4. One of the handmaidens (ex: Corde)

The handmaidens to the queen were not just women who helped her get dressed. They were her protectors and could potentially die for her, since they could act as her double as a safety measure.

It would be interesting to show the process of how the handmaidens were picked, what training they went through, and what sort of background gave them the desire to pursue such a career.

5. Cassian Andor

I think it would be really cool to have a stand-alone film about Cassian. What exactly happened to his family? How did he come to be such an important part of the Rebellion?

Also, I read a fanfiction where Leia and Cassian were close friends. I think it would be cool to show their relationship as BFFs – both joining the Rebellion at a young age, losing those they loved, etc…It would be really neat to see how they met and what their friendship looked like.

Those are some ideas for stand-alone films that I think would be really cool! What stand-alone Star Wars films do y’all want? Let me know in the comments below!

~ Southern Dreamer

P.S. Can we all agree that the stand-alone film of Han Solo without Harrison Ford is completely unnecessary?

Last weekend, my brother and I went to see The Space Between Us. All of the trailers I had seen (well, the ones that had aired on television XD) looked really good, and I thought the entire concept was fascinating!

***WARNING: There will be some spoilers below, so if you want to have a 100% spoiler-free review, skip down to the very, very last paragraph***

With that said, on to the review!

Like I said earlier, I thought the concept was quite interesting – I had never even thought about that before, and so it was interesting to think about the real logistics of someone who had been born on Mars: how would it effect their growth? Organs? Social interaction? What would their life be like?

The main character, Gardner Elliot, brought up all these questions…because he was surprise! born on Mars. Yep. How’s that for a unique birth?

Flash-forward sixteen years. Gardner has been raised by scientists on Mars, and therefore is pretty much a science genius (I have a feeling Tony/Bruce/Peter and him would all get along amazingly). His only contact with Earth, is a girl named Tulsa. They communicate once a day, and all she knows (regarding why they haven’t met), is that he has a disease that causes him to be unable to leave his home.

His “mother” (not biological, since she died in childbirth), Kendra, realizes that it’s time to bring Gardner back to Earth. Even if he doesn’t survive, she has come to the rightful conclusion that it is not fair to keep him from Earth any longer.

And so begins the process of procedures and physical therapy to prepare Gardner for Earth. During this, he tells Tulsa that they have found a cure for his “disease” which will allow him to finally leave his “home” and meet her. He also mentions that there will be some travel involved. Space travel. Aka…seven months with no communication with her.

Thus, when Gardner finally found Tulsa at her school, and he was all ‘hey Tulsa! It’s me! Gardner.’ Tulsa was pretty much like…

First impressions, right? XD

Anyway, quick note here, when Gardner came to Earth, they ran a ton of tests on him, and he realized that if something was not exactly right, or as it should be, they were going to send him back to Mars. Naturally, Gardner did not want to go back, and having the brilliant mind that he does, he managed to cause a pressure distraction and escaped the facility.

Cue all his caretakers and the other scientists/astronauts freaking out.

Nathaniel Shepherd, the man who had started this, is going off to find Gardner along with Kendra. They are determined to locate him, no matter what.

Meanwhile, Gardner and Tulsa are hanging out, when SURPRISE! Nathaniel and Kendra show up in a helicopter.

Gardner is not about it. He starts running away from them, with Kendra chasing and Nathaniel jumping in the black SUV. They think they will have no problem catching him, but what they did not count on, was Tulsa picking up Gardner in one of those plane’s that farmers use.

And off they go, leaving Nathaniel and Kendra behind. Through the rest of the movie, the two teens go on a cross-country road trip trying to locate Gardner’s father, who he found with a picture of his mother on a hard drive.

There are so many cute moments, and a very Peeta-Katniss vibe between Gardner and Tulsa. She has this tough outer shell and does not open up easily to other people, because of how many times she’s been hurt. He, on the other hand, lacks any normal social skills and has this naivety that is very innocent and sweet. Yet, there is a major problem…

His Heart.

Gardner’s heart, because he was born on Mars, is too big. It cannot handle Earth’s gravity or atmosphere.

Gardner is dying.

One of the scenes, reminded me of a cancer patient. When you know you are going to die anyway, and that there is nothing anyone can do for you, some people go one of two ways: a) try to do the treatments that doctors prescribe that will hopefully let them live longer, or b) forgo all such in the decision to live as much as they can, while they still have time.

And that’s what Gardner decides. So, he and Tulsa manage to sneak out of the hospital and high-tail it out of that town. They are back on the road-trip to find Gardner’s father.

I don’t want to spoil the HUGE twist-around, so I’ll skip that part 😉

Overall, I thought The Space Between Us was a great movie. It was centered around an interesting concept, and had both romance, sci-fi, and humor. There were some really cute scenes and funny moments! A great romance, sci-fi story.

So, have any of y’all seen The Space Between Us? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂

I’ve come up with a few theories of what this could mean, so I thought I would share them with y’all!

The most obvious answer is that Luke Skywalker dies, and is therefore the “last” Jedi

Although, would this mean that he did not end up training Rey? Because if she became a Jedi, then obviously Luke would not be the last Jedi. And I’m pretty sure that he ends up training her as his padawan – or at least, that was what episode seven seemed to hint at.

2. Episode 8 is centered around Luke Skywalker

Another option would be that this next movie is centered around Luke, hence the name, “The Last Jedi.” This could work, because right now Rey would only be a padawan and therefore, Luke would be the “last” Jedi – at least temporarily.

I think this could be an interesting move, and perhaps would give us more background info. With episode seven, Rey had several flashbacks and/or visions of the future; so it would be really cool if in episode eight, we got the same thing with Luke.

How did he get there? What happened before all of his padawans were killed? Was he ever married? So many questions and hopefully this next one will answer them.

3. Another Jedi

A lot of people have pointed out that the titles of episode 7 and 8 form a complete sentence: The Force Awakens The Last Jedi.

I’m still in denial that Jyn and Cassian died (THEYLIVEDOK), so when I saw the above on social media, my first thought was…hey, Jyn had a kyber crystal! Maybe she has the Force, but she just didn’t know it! And Cassian and her have been “asleep” ever since the events of Scarif, but then the Force AWAKENS Jyn.

Alright. I’ll admit it. This is extremely far-fetched and most likely won’t happen, but hey, that’s what fanfictions are for right? xD

Well, those are my theories for what episode eight could possibly be about! What do y’all think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

For my media autobiography, I decided to do a combination of both music and literature. There’s not really any specific order to this, though I did try to organize each category (songs and books) in the order of life events it occurred with.

“God Is All Around Us” by Twila Paris

Truthfully, the entire CD that this song is found on, has been instrumental in my life. Ever since I was diagnosed with narcolepsy and cataplexy at six years old, I have listened to this album during every rest/nap and at night. Because of the horrific nightmares that often come with narcolepsy, I was and sometimes still am, scared to go to sleep. Having this CD though, and specifically this song, gave me something to listen to that was completely centered around Jesus and His love.

2. “Blessings” by Laura Story

As stated above, I have an illness that is not curable. And this song, Blessings, really describes how I feel. It says, “We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering, all the while, You hear each spoken need, yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.” There have been so many times that I have prayed for God to just let me get a good rest. I mean, that’s not a huge request, right? But sometimes it doesn’t happen. He doesn’t answer or come through in the way I want Him to.

Another lyric that I relate to says, “What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near.” I can’t tell you how many times I have been awake during the night. Sometimes crying, sometimes scared, and this line really is true.

3. “Through All Of It” by Colton Dixon

Something I struggle with is doubt. Like most people with whatever they struggle with, I’ve had seasons where it’s stronger than others. During one of those, I was listening to Colton Dixon’s album and caught these lines, “When I was blinded by my fear, and I struggled to believe, but in those unclear moments, you were the one keeping me strong, this is how my story’s always gone.” I love that.

4. “Free To Be Me” by Francesca Battistelli

I’ve never met Francesca Battistelli, but if I did, I would ask her if she’s a perfectionist. The reason why, is several lyrics in this song seem to hint at that.

Try to fit the pieces together But perfection is my enemy

And

When I was just a girl I thought I had it figured out

Being a perfectionist myself, I relate to those lyrics.

5. “Oceans” by Hillsong United

I really love this song; it deals with a lot of different components: faith, fear, and trust. I’m someone who doesn’t trust very easily – even with God, I struggle with it, though I like to believe that I’ve grown in that.

6. “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten

This is such an awesome song! It’s really empowering and inspirational. I love how it talks about to keep fighting even if everyone else is saying you can’t do it or if you feel like giving up.

7. “Mean” by Taylor Swift

I’m pretty sure every person on the planet can relate to this song. It talks about the mean people in our life, and how someday they won’t be able to treat us like that. I know I’ve had people who have ignored me and well, y’all girls know, all that girl drama lol. So yeah, this is another great, upbeat song.

8. “Love” by Jana Kramer

Alright, I’ll admit it. I’m a completely Hallmark-watching, sappy romantic. I adore a good love story. Put a romantic movie in or give me a love story, and you can be guaranteed that I’ll probably like it. Side note, that’s likely the reason why I’m such a shipper. Anyway, this song is definitely me.

9. Elsie’s Endless Wait by Martha Finley

Even though I absolutely love reading, there have been very few books that have really touched me beyond the fact that I think they’re wonderful. I remember reading the Life of Faith series for the first time, though, and being struck by Elsie’s character. She made me want to be a better person and Christian. Even in the midst of her circumstances, she was still honoring God and putting her faith first when it would have been easier not to.

10. Breaking Up With Perfect by Amy Carroll

Lastly, this is probably the most recent one on this list. I still haven’t finished the book yet, but what I have read so far is really good. It was written to help perfectionists (aka me) break free from their perfectionism. And being the perfectionist I am, I had to include it.

There you go! Those are my ten songs and books that would be my media autobiography. What ten songs, ten books, or ten songs and books would you choose as your media autobiography?

Well. Monday I went and watched Rogue One. And today I am still trying to cope with the repercussions of that.

But without further ado, I am going to discuss some of the things I loved about the movie.

Background of the architect behind the Death Star

I loved that they gave so much depth to this. It really makes everything in episodes 4, 5, and 6 make so much more sense. And, you know, MORE TRAGIC.

2. Blind guy who uses the force

This was so awesome! I really loved that they did this. As someone with an illness, I was glad they finally showcased a character with a disability. Petition for more characters like that!

3. Spiritual Analogies

There were so many spiritual analogies in this movie. Especially the part where Chirrut is on Scarif and repeating his “I am one with the Force” speech as Stormtroopers fire on him…and do not hit him.

It reminded me of the story in the Bible with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and how God protected them from the fire – similar to how the Force protected Chirrut from the Stormtroopers.

4. Rebel Captain

Jyn and Cassian have officially crushed me. I did not expect to ship something so much, especially from a stand-alone Star Wars film, but sheesh, I ship it so hard.

I love their dynamic! It’s different from all of the other couples in Star Wars, which I appreciate. And just their growth as individual characters and together was amazing – especially in such a short amount of time.

I’m not gonna lie, I was mentally screaming at them to kiss at the end of the movie (ELEVATOR SCENE, SO MUCH OK. AND THEN THE BEACH SCENE). But nope. I didn’t even get that to console myself with XD

What makes it even more tragic and depressing, is what could have been. But they didn’t even get the chance to explore that.

And then…there’s this </3

Overall, I loved the movie (minus the fact, that, ya know, EVERYBODY DIED…*cough*). I was also sad that Scarif got destroyed – that was a really pretty planet! And I loved the line from Bail Organa about how he trusted “her” (obviously Leia) with his life ❤ But yeah. Rogue One has officially killed me.